Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoRusty Costanza | Associated PressMembers of the Tulane football team gather after practice, their first since teammate Devon Walker suffered a spinal injury in a head-on collision at Tulsa on Saturday. Walker remains hospitalized in Tulsa, Okla.

Wednesday September 12, 2012 5:46 AM

Devon Walker’s Tulane teammates believe he will continue to be an inspiration to them in the way he deals with a devastating spinal injury because that’s the kind of person he always has been — driven and relentless.

Walker played his first two years without a scholarship while pursuing a degree in cell and molecular biology.

He played part of last season with a cast on a broken left arm. And friends said he will attack this challenge with the same tenacity.

“Without a doubt, I know Devon is going to continue to fight on because he’s a competitor,” said Tulane senior cornerback Ryan Travis, who shares an apartment with Walker and has been his friend since they were freshmen.

“He has a lot of courage and will power to overcome adversity.”

The Green Wave returned to practice yesterday for the first time since Walker, a senior safety, fractured his spine while making a tackle at the end of the first half of a game at Tulsa on Saturday.

Walker remains hospitalized in Tulsa, Okla., where he had surgery on Sunday. Doctors said it is too early to know what the long-term effects of his injury will be, though paralysis always is a concern with spinal injuries.

His teammates said Walker has been in their thoughts constantly.

The university’s official athletic website, tulanegreenwave.com, now includes a link to web page dedicated to helping Walker and his family.

Tulane’s next game is not until Sept. 22 at the Superdome against Mississippi. Players said the bye week “came at a good time” as they try to grapple with their popular teammate’s misfortune.

Although doctors have said Walker never lost consciousness, could breathe on his own and speak, his teammates have not yet been able to talk to him. Travis and Washington have been getting daily updates by text or phone conversation from Walker’s mother, Inez, who has traveled from the New Orleans area to Tulsa.

Michigan defensive end pleads guilty to felony

Michigan defensive end Frank Clark has pleaded guilty to a second-degree home-invasion charge, a felony.

The Detroit Free Press and AnnArbor.com reported that Clark acknowledged in court yesterday that he took a laptop from a dorm room without permission in June.

Clark is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 23, the same day running back Fitzgerald Toussaint is set for sentencing for pleading guilty to drunken driving. Clark can have the felony removed from his record if he completes probation under a first-time offenders program. Michigan coach Brady Hoke suspended Clark for a week of preseason practice and the opener against Alabama.

Penn State sticking with wobbly kicker

Penn State coach Bill O’Brien said he is sticking by kicker Sam Ficken, who missed a winning field-goal attempt from 42 yards, one of four field-goal tries he missed in a 17-16 loss on Saturday against Virginia.

Ficken took over this season only when standout kicker Anthony Fera transferred to Texas after the NCAA’s landmark sanctions on Penn State for the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal.

Notable

• Purdue quarterback Robert Marve has a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but his status for the rest of the season is unknown. He has had two previous ACL tears.

• Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn retired yesterday after he suffered his fourth shoulder injury. Wynn finished eighth on Utah’s career passing list with 4,637 yards — one of 11 quarterbacks in school history to pass for at least 4,000.